As with most of our many different caliper models and styles - including spring calipers and dial calipers - our high quality, excellent value Vernier calipers are available in both analogue and digital formats.
Vernier calipers are a consistently popular form of low tolerance measuring tool used in a great many industries, workshops and hobbyist/trade projects. Being ‘low tolerance' means they offer extreme accuracy, measuring items on a detailed scale that typically offers readouts to the nearest 0.02mm (0.001 inch).
What makes Vernier calipers so special?
- Vernier calipers offer extremely precise measurements of linear dimensions, thanks to the inclusion of both a static main scale and a sliding Vernier scale
- The main scale is similar to that found on a typical ruler or measuring tape, while the specially graduated sliding scale Vernier scale is positioned alongside, sliding parallel to the main scale and enabling more precise readings to be made, using fractions of the larger divisions found on the main scale
- The Vernier scale is named for its inventor, the 17th century French mathematician Pierre Vernier, and this sliding, highly accurate ‘micro-measurement' scale is often tucked behind moving measurement parts such as internal jaws, external jaws or sliding depth rods to prevent wear to the scale over time
- The design profile of Vernier calipers makes them particularly useful when you need to measure something with a rounded or circular circumference, such as a section of tubing, pipe or cylinder
- While they aren't necessarily any more accurate than other types of caliper per se - for example, properly used and read spring or dial calipers - Vernier calipers are often the preferred style among many professionals, due to the more traditional feel of the way their measurements are read (from the neck/jaws of the instrument, as opposed to from a dial on the side)